Late Fees & Grace Periods

Alabama's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no maximum late fee and no mandatory grace period. Late fees are governed entirely by the lease; rent is late the day after…

California sets no fixed dollar or percentage cap on rent late fees, but a late fee in a residential lease is treated as liquidated damages. Under Civil Code § 1671, such a fee is…

Colorado caps residential late fees at the greater of $50 or 5% of the past-due rent. No late fee may be charged until rent is at least seven days late, and only if disclosed in…

Connecticut law gives tenants a grace period before rent is late: nine days for monthly tenancies and four days for weekly tenancies under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 47a-15a. Under Sec…

Del. Code tit. 25 § 5501(d) caps residential late fees at 5 percent of monthly rent and bars any late fee within 5 days of the due date. A landlord must keep an office in the county…

Under D.C. Code § 42-3505.31, a residential late fee may not exceed 5% of the full monthly rent and may be charged only after rent is at least 5 days late. The fee must be disclosed in…

Hawaii caps rent late charges by statute. Under HRS § 521-21(f), where the rental agreement provides for a late charge for rent not paid when due, that charge may not exceed eight per…

Indiana's landlord-tenant statutes contain no late-fee cap, no required grace period, and no dedicated late-fee provision for residential rent. A late fee is enforceable only if the…

Iowa Code Sec. 562A.9(4) caps late fees by rent amount. If monthly rent is $700 or less, a lease may not charge over $12 per day or $60 per month total. If rent is more than $700, the…

Maine caps residential late-rent penalties at 4% of one month's rent. A landlord may not charge a late fee until rent is at least 15 days overdue, and may only charge it if the lease…

Maryland caps late-rent penalties at 5% of the delinquent rent. Under Real Property § 8-208, a lease may not impose a late fee greater than 5% of the overdue rent for the rental…

Massachusetts strictly limits late fees. Under M.G.L. c. 186 § 15B(1)(c), no lease or rental agreement may impose any interest or penalty for late rent until the rent is at least 30…

Minn. Stat. Sec. 504B.177 caps late fees on residential rent at 8% of the overdue rent payment and allows a late fee only if landlord and tenant agreed to it in writing. The statute…

Montana's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets no statutory cap on late rent fees and requires no grace period. Late fees are governed only by the rental agreement under Mont. Code…

NRS 118A.210 caps a Nevada late fee at 5 percent of the periodic rent and requires it to be set out in the rental agreement. For tenancies longer than week-to-week, no late fee may be…

New Jersey sets no general statutory cap on residential late fees, leaving the amount to the lease subject to reasonableness. For senior citizens on government pensions and recipients…

NMSA 47-8-15(D) caps a New Mexico late fee at 5 percent of the rent for each rental period in default: cut from 10 percent by a 2025 amendment effective June 20, 2025. Late fees are…

Real Property Law Section 238-a, added by the 2019 HSTPA, caps residential late fees at $50 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is less, and bars any late fee until rent is more than…

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-46 caps residential late fees on monthly rent at $15 or 5% of the monthly rent, whichever is greater, and bars charging the fee until rent is at least five days…

ORS 90.260 lets an Oregon landlord charge a late fee only if rent is not received by the fourth day of the rental period and the written rental agreement provides for it. The fee must…

Rhode Island sets no statutory cap on rent late fees, so the amount is governed by the lease. There is no formal late-fee grace period in the Act, but R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 34-18-35 bars…

In URLTA counties, Tenn. Code 66-28-201(d) caps any late fee at 10% of the rent past due and requires a five-day grace period before a fee may be charged. If the grace period ends on a…

Under Tex. Prop. Code § 92.019 a residential late fee must be reasonable and may be charged only if written in the lease and the rent stays unpaid two full days after due. A fee is…

Utah does cap residential late fees. Under the Fit Premises Act, an owner may not charge a late fee exceeding the greater of 10% of the rent or $75 (Utah Code 57-22-4(5)(a)). Any fee…

Va. Code § 55.1-1204 lets a landlord charge a late fee only if the written lease provides for it, capped at the lesser of 10 percent of the periodic rent or 10 percent of the remaining…

Under RCW 59.18.170, a Washington landlord may not charge any late fee on rent paid within five days of its due date; a fee may begin only once rent is more than five days past due…